Sunday, December 12, 2010

Dotty Winter Trees

But, since I seem to have an obsession with dots....whether it be on cakes or apples or presents....I added some dots.

The indecision came in with the sanding sugar and the wood grain trunk. To sugar or not to sugar. To wood grain or not to wood grain.Those were the questions.

{You know you are having serious cookie issues when you wake your husband up at the crack of dawn to say, "Sweetie, which do you like better, this plain tree trunk or the wood grain one?"}

Wood grain it was.

Now, *someone* in my house does not care for sanding sugar. (Not the way it looks, but the way it tastes.) Had I known this before marrying him, we would have been in for some MAJOR pre-marital counseling.

I, on the other hand, love that bit of crunch on a soft sugar cookie. So, I went for half and half.

With a #3 tip, outline the tree on green, piping 3 sections of the tree.

With a #2 tip, outline the trunk in brown.

Thin the green, light green and brown icings with water, a bit at a time, until it is the consistency of thick syrup. Cover with a damp dish towel and let sit several minutes.

Stir gently with a rubber spatula and transfer icings to squeeze bottles.

Working 6-8 cookies at a time, fill in the trees in the 3 colors of green. Use a toothpick to spread to edges and pop large air bubbles.

Come back over the filled trees while the icing is still wet and drop on dots of thinned icing.

Fill in the trunks in brown. Use a toothpick to spread to edges and pop large air bubbles.

Let dry overnight.

The next day, set up a sanding sugar station. Mix equal parts meringue powder with water. With a small paintbrush, brush the mixture on the area to be sanded. Sprinkle on the sanding sugar and shake excess over a coffee filter. The filter can be used as a funnel to go back into the bottle.

Basically, mix water with food coloring....a 1 to 1 ratio or so. Trim your fan brush, so that it is uneven. Dip the brush into the food coloring mixture, dab on a paper towel and brush onto your cookies. (I used the same technique on the Harry Potter broom cookies.)

Tell me....are you a sanding sugar lover like me, or do you side with Mr. E on this one?

LOVELY! I'll be making a funky forest next week when I get home for CHristmas. I have followed your tutorials and made a giant snowman cookie and about 40 snowballs to go around him. Would love to share pics, but ???

LOVELY! I'll be making a funky forest next week when I get home for CHristmas. I have followed your tutorials and made a giant snowman cookie and about 40 snowballs to go around him. Would love to share pics, but ???

Bridget! I need help! I have tried to do the luster dust or sanding sugar trick like you and all I get is my royal icing looking like doodoo because getting it wet causes it to sorta disintegrate? Any recommendations????

The 3 grandkids & I made your sugar cookies last night. Had a blast & they turned out very well. The sanding sugar looks great but not sure if I prefer it on when eating. The tree cookies look great as always. You are so talented!

I don't think it's coincidence that I have 2 dozen naked Christmas tree cookies on my dining room table. I was trying to figure out how to make them special, and two tone may be the way to go! Thanks for a great idea!

I like the look of the sandy sugar, but am not the biggest fan of the texture. I will eat both if it means I can get my sugar cookie on, but would take unsugared before the sugared. Sorry, but I wanted to say I love your blog.

I love your site so much! I tried acouple of things and they all turned out delicious, I recently tried my hand at Royale icing cookies, and they were snails and black and purple but the royale icing taste was kinda nasty... :( I was wondering if you add flavoring? And if so how much and what kind? I made more only this time I added maple flavoring and dumb me didnt realize it would turn the icing brown.. they came out pretty but once again my cookies came out in an unexpected way. Please help me :P

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